Spoilers The War Between the Land and the Sea discussion thread

[Starkers]

It'll in interesting to see how it performs when Disney finally air it.

I mean I'm not a fan but numbers wise it still pulled in more for its final episode it pulled in more viewers than a couple of Ncuti episodes from series 15 and it got some positive reviews from critics.

Apparently RTD wrote this around the time he wrote The Star Beast but it took several years to get it done (man so you can't even excuse it being a bit bland on them not having enough time to polish it...)

 

[jaime]

It'll in interesting to see how it performs when Disney finally air it.

I mean I'm not a fan but numbers wise it still pulled in more for its final episode it pulled in more viewers than a couple of Ncuti episodes from series 15 and it got some positive reviews from critics.

Apparently RTD wrote this around the time he wrote The Star Beast but it took several years to get it done (man so you can't even excuse it being a bit bland on them not having enough time to polish it...)

He rewrote the Silurians and Sea Devils, practically note for note, threw in a slightly weirdly undercooked soap opera and sushi love story (two if we count Ibrahim/Kate, but that one wasn’t so much undercooked as just out the freezer) and didn’t use the expensive set that might have provided brand continuity.
And it took years to get done?
It sure as feck didn’t take more than about a week to write. And thats being generous.

It’s not even as effective as the original. (Silurians) Which is remarkable, because modern TV almost has more texture and characterisation baked in as a default setting.

At this point, I think RTD is overrated, and just had a lot of good luck and a good support network to end up where he is. Sure, he works hard, but he’s… just really not that good.
And of his first series, well, it seems to have been running alive with questionable individuals, so at the very least he’s not a very good judge of character either. Likely explains why he can’t write decent ones for any stretch of time either.

 

[Starkers]

Oh FFS..

 

[Guy Gardener]

Who got caught jacking off a dolphin?

Little blond girl in a sitcom.

I can see it so clearly.

She also banged the marine biologists dad, who I am fairly sure was the Reverse Flash on the Flash... Called her "The worst human being in the world."

Fuck.

Who is it google?

Useless.

Caroline in the city?

Nope.

Suddenly Susan?

Nope.

The New Adventures of Old Christine?

Nope.

So I asked my wife, who just woke up, fearing that looking for the answer to this question, might just take the rest of my life.

"It's Will and Grace, dummy."

 

[Captaindemotion]

Who got caught jacking off a dolphin?

Little blond girl in a sitcom.

She just did it for clicks

 

[Starkers]

She just did it for clicks

You're assuming she did it on porpoise?

 

[Turtletrekker]

You're assuming she did it on porpoise?

Just for the halibut.

 

[Starkers]

I've heard she trawls bars

 

[Captaindemotion]

I can see I’ve taken this discussion to a bad plaice.

 

[Steve Roby]

I used up my pun-making powers in another thread, so this is just a reminder that Pete McTighe wrote three of the five episodes of The War Between the Land and the Sea. If it's reasonable to call the show a failure, and I wouldn't exert myself too much to argue against that, it's also reasonable to apportion the blame fairly.

 

[The Wormhole]

Cod damn ocean puns.

 

[jaime]

I used up my pun-making powers in another thread, so this is just a reminder that Pete McTighe wrote three of the five episodes of The War Between the Land and the Sea. If it's reasonable to call the show a failure, and I wouldn't exert myself too much to argue against that, it's also reasonable to apportion the blame fairly.

That was all part of the game to line him up as heir apparent. We know RTD is on yhe record as liking to rewrite other people writing for ‘his’ show.

 

[JD]

Isn't that pretty standard for TV shows though? I thought the showrunners always did a final pass of other people's scripts. Doesn't the whole system go, the writers room come up with the plot, they pass it to the credited writer, then it goes back to the writers room for a first pass, and then the showrunner does a final pass before it goes before the camera?

 

[The Wormhole]

Yes, showrunners have the right to rewrite anyone's script on the show, and those writers know this going in. We know Moffat did the same thing when he was showrunner, and I'd be very surprised if Chibnall didn't.

 

[Starkers]

Yes, showrunners have the right to rewrite anyone's script on the show, and those writers know this going in. We know Moffat did the same thing when he was showrunner, and I'd be very surprised if Chibnall didn't.

Isn't Moffat the only writer RTD didn't do any rewrites on?

 

[jaime]

It’s pretty standard, and is somewhat what the old Script Editors used to do. RTD in interviews does talk about knowing he does it quite a lot.
It would be impossible, I suspect, to separate him from McTighe on WBLAS.

 

[The Wormhole]

Isn't Moffat the only writer RTD didn't do any rewrites on?

There were a few others, including Chibnall and Gareth Roberts, and indeed they were the ones who handled the day to day affairs on Torchwood and SJA.

 

[JD]

It’s pretty standard, and is somewhat what the old Script Editors used to do. RTD in interviews does talk about knowing he does it quite a lot.
It would be impossible, I suspect, to separate him from McTighe on WBLAS.

So then why were you treating it like it was this horrible disgusting thing he did in your other post?

 

[jaime]

So then why were you treating it like it was this horrible disgusting thing he did in your other post?

I think that’s how you read it.
There’s nothing in the tone of what I wrote to suggest that at all.

 

[JD]

OK sorry, my mistake.